Blue Moon Winter Sample Pack 2014: Blue Moon Belgian White

Brewed By: Miller Brewing Company (MillerCoors) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin   

Purchased: 12oz bottle from the Blue Moon Winter Sampler 2014 bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2014 

Style/ABV: Belgian White, 5.4%

Reported IBUs: 9

DAE Macro sampler packs?

Over the past few years of penning horrible blog reviews, I have never actually reviewed one of America's classic beers: Blue Moon Belgian White. I did review their god-awful Grand Cru once upon a time, but how about some of their more seminal releases? I couldn't pass up on the Winter Sampler Pack for 2014. This thing cost about $15, and comes with five unique beers. Well, five really, because who hasn't had the Belgian White? About MillerCoors aka Blue Moon:

Blue Moon was first brewed in 1995 at one of MillerCoors' R&D arms; in a sandlot, in Denver, Colorado, by Keith Villa. Keith Villa is an OG player these days. He's off judging beer, and talking about his PhD in brewing from the University of Brussels. There's a PhD for everything these days. Seriously though, it's Blue Moon. Read the Wiki. 

Blue Moon's Belgian White is the classic beer that you can find at terrible chain restaurants like Applebee's and Chili's. You might also find it at TGIFridays. This beer is literally a classic American craft staple, regardless of what people on forums like "BeersAdventures" and "RapesBeers" might say. Blue Moon is brewed with orange peel, oats/wheat malts, and the usual shit you'd find in a Belgian White. This beer is Keith Villa's pride, and Keith Villa is MillerCoors' Stepford Wife. 

Blue Moon Belgian White

For a MillerCoors' product, this beer is vibrant and orange, and hazy and unfiltered. It actually looks like a legit wheat beer, or at least until the head dies off and you are left with orange juice. Then again, this is a Witbier, not a Hefe.

The aroma is all sorts of conflicting. You get wheat, orange, and honey -- but the aroma is very thick. It smells pretty sweet, and takes a turn towards cereal, with some Fruity Pebbles, and fake spice. It's kind of how I imagine an extract batch of a Witbier would smell.

Witbiers aren't really my bag in general, and Blue Moon tends to highlight a lot of the things about the style that I don't love. For 5.4%, Blue Moon is fairly dense and heavy. It's also fairly sweet. This beer dials up the saccharine juices, and reminds me of apple juice. It tastes like something made from extract, or something that could be further fermented out. In the taste is juicy orange, Fruity Pebbles, some bubble gum, artificial clove that is cloying, and lots of wheat. The saccharine edge isn't overly enjoyable, and the fake spice goes over-the-top in ways that rival Hoegaarden. 

Despite some of the flaws that Blue Moon has, it has a full body that is pretty substantial at 5.4%. The complexity is bottom-of-the-barrel, but the saccharine orange and Fruity Pebbles sweetness is obnoxious enough to stand up to the heartburn inducing foods you might find at such chain restaurants like Chili's, Applebee's, etc. This is a fully utilitarian beer, something beyond the monotonous Pale Lagers likely to be on tap wherever you go, but not nearly as interesting as many other beers. I mean, I'd take a Sapporo over a Blue Moon Belgian White 9/10 times. This is truly a MillerCoors product...the saccharine sweetness reminds me of Miller Genuine Draft, and the relatively uneventful transition from orange/wheat, to a spicy/salty middle, to the bubblegum/wheat back end isn't impressive. And yes, Blue Moon is definitely slightly salty in its attempt to do spice. Salty like semen. Yum.

Rating: Average (2.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Average on this. Blue Moon isn't offensive enough to hit that below-average stride, and this beer actually does sort of pull off the style. It's a bit cloying on the sweetness, but the slight brine/semen/salt note that is probably supposed to be coriander spice actually adds an interesting dimension...oh shit, I'm fishing here. Or phishing. Ha, the jokes on you! Seriously though, I would never go out of my way to buy a 6-pack of Blue Moon, but this is a serviceable beer on tap. I've had this beer while out to many a shitty chain restaurant with family and friends. This is a great beer to shove an orange in, and call it a fucking day. This is my Chili's beer. 

Random Thought: The Blue Moon Grand Cru was hilariously bad. Maybe that's why I don't see it on shelves anymore.